Tag Archives: cards

Nov 12

A new trend: white on kraft

I am loving a look I came up with while creating Christmas cards and tags: white ink (with snowflakes or stars) on kraft paper. I stamp images onto a kraft tag or card and emboss with Stampendous detail white embossing powder. The look, to me, is very Nordic, simple, earthy, and classic. I can’t get enough of it right now. I am hoping you like it as well, too, because I have some items for sale on Etsy that are created with this beautiful style in mind.

White Noel Christmas cards

Snowflake stickers

small white star tags

medium snowflake tags

scrap paper chain

There’s no end to what you can do with these items. I will be starting my December Daily in a couple of weeks, and I intend to use these tags and stickers to embellish my album; the cards I’ve made (not showing are the red star and green tree cards) are meant to be simple in order to let your words and sentiments shine. Let your Christmas be merry and bright with white-on-kraft by Retrospect!

Mar 27

Cosmo’s kitschy cards

I fully intended to spend this weekend making cards, which I did, but my mind wandered into a different direction with respect to what I would create. I will be purchasing copper (which turns out to be a lot like foil when you work with it) and using it in the near future, and I did use a teeny bit on one card, but Cosmo Cricket caught my eye, gave me a new idea, and I ran with it. Cosmo Cricket is a scrapbook brand that I love, and I had purchased some black chipboard die-cut embellishments which matched a sheet of paper cut-outs. Once I pulled everything apart, glued the paper to the chipboard, I had some fun and funky shapes that I might make some really unique cards. Once I glued everything together, I stamped some sayings on top, which I wanted to look like a broken typewriter did. I had so much fun! I made 20 cards total, for two packages of 10 cards, randomly chosen:

set 1

set 2

Both sets are for sale on Etsy.

I also finished making some mini scrap art journals, inspired by the class I took from Amy Tangerine at Big Picture Classes. I cut the size previously used in half to make them easier to take along on a trip, or just anywhere:

made with a travel motif, for a trip

for everyday

These journals are also for sale on Etsy, and they were so easy and fun to make. Catch you tomorrow for another round of scrappin’ fun!

Feb 27

Disorderly conduct rules the day

Riot, tumult, turbulence, unruliness, commotion, anarchy, mob rule, disarrangement, confusion, untidiness, unmanageable, wayward, fractious, disobedience, unsystematic, chaotic, unmethodical….MESS. 

This is why I have managed to make 4 cards today. F-O-U-R. That’s it. I am shameless. Note to readers: don’t let this happen to you! FEMA can’t even help me at this point. Terrible.

Next time, I will get organized; I will have a plan of action, I will get out only the supplies I actually need, I will use the dining room table (it’s bigger). I will punch shapes, cut ribbon, stamp paper, and work in a more systematic way. I hope. Nonetheless, here are the cards I was able to complete (I may do more, but I want to eat dinner early and watch the Oscars!). I will be making some for my shop on Etsy and ArtFire, and some will be for my family to use.

I just couldn’t help myself and had to make one more layout. I found some photos from last summer that I hadn’t done anything with yet, and I took advantage of my creative momentum.

Until next time, J.

Feb 10

Giving a gift of love…give handmade (sorry, Hallmark)

Sabrina's birthday card

My daughter’s best friend has a birthday coming up this Saturday. As we looked around a local store for something to give as a gift, I completely bypassed the greeting card aisle. On purpose. My thinking: why give Hallmark my money, when I can make one myself? I can choose the colors, the theme, the styling, even customize it with Sabrina’s name (the birthday girl)…and it still won’t cost me as much as that cookie-cutter card you find on aisle 3a. Of course, it does help that being an avid scrapbooker, I have loads of colorful papers, stickers, shape punchers, rubber stamps, etc. It’s not just saving money (um…I did have to buy those papers, stickers and such at one time or other…), but it’s the love of crafting something by hand. It’s a stress-reliever, an energizer, a creative outlet, a mental “upper”, if you will. It is impossible for me to feel anything but peace, happiness and contentment when I scrapbook a page, make a card, or create any other craft project. That’s one of the reasons I started my own little enterprise I call Retrospect; I like to make things, and I love even more to share them. Business may not be booming at the moment, but I’m not in it to be the next Martha Stewart. It can be expensive, and I want to have fun. So I will hopefully make a little money while doing what I love. Having a shop in Etsy has made me feel like part of a community, as well. Most everything on the site is hand-crafted, and I have come to really appreciate this, versus buying something from a chain store: it’s personal, it’s unique, it’s always made with love… and that makes it special. Since not everyone has the time or inclination to make something by hand (although I highly condone trying, you can’t go wrong!), I feel compelled to suggest visiting the Etsy site for anything you might be needing, whether it’s for yourself, or for someone else (you know, Valentines Day is coming): www.etsy.com. Feel free to visit my shop there (http://www.etsy.com/shop/simplyretrospect), or my website (http://www.simplyretrospective.com/). Happy crafting!

Jan 24

I heart you.

A part of me is looking forward to Valentine’s Day. Romance? Love? No. Pink! Red! Hearts! CANDY! Love that stuff. My husband doesn’t do “that [blank] stuff”. Doesn’t matter to me, because we are romantic every day. I don’t need him bringing me flowers (that’s our code for “I want a divorce…”), and I get little love notes on any given day, just because. What I get a kick out of, is seeing what other people get! I can’t wait to see who will get engaged, who gets married, who goes all out, etc. I love other people’s flowers, and I can buy heart-shaped cookies and chocolate. Yum! Helping my daughter get her valentines ready for school is fun, too. I love seeing what she’s gotten at school. It brings me back to my elementary school years when I would dump out my bag all over my bedroom floor and go over each and every valentine I received that day at school. I would organize them, and then save the candy for a later time. I would eat only one piece at a time, too, because I wanted to conserve. It’s silly, and some people don’t get the day, perhaps, but no matter to me. I love love. And I look forward to Valentine’s Day.